Entergy: Customers can expect major damage

Entergy Texas customers in the Montgomery County area can expect “major damage” to the utility’s distribution system should Hurricane Ike continue on its projected path.

“The Woodlands and Conroe areas should prepare for the worst,” David Caplan, Entergy Texas’ director of communications, said Friday morning. “It’s time to batten down the hatches.”

Company officials said restoration of power to the area may take weeks.

"Hurricane Ike's path has potential to cause mass power outages throughout our service area, both along the coast and in the areas we seerve north of Houston," said Joe Domino, president and echief executive officer of Entergy Texas.

Ike is scheduled to make landfall in the vicinity of Galveston during the early morning hours Saturday. The storm is expected to bring hurricane conditions to Montgomery County later in the day.

Unlike Hurricane Rita in 2005 when Entergy Texas’ transmission system between Beaumont and Conroe bore the brunt of the damage, the most extensive damage this time could be to the distribution systems in Montgomery County area, where Entergy Texas has some 170,000 customers.

Transmission lines transport electricity from the generation plants to the distribution systems. Distribution systems deliver power into the customers’ homes and businesses.

“It’s a potentially different scenario,” Caplan said. “There will be outages, but the nature and dynamics of the outages may be different (than Rita).”

Entergy Texas has taken offline all five of its power generation units at the Sabine Station in Bridge City. They were taken out of operation to protect the units from damage by salt water during a power surge.

In 2005, a number of Entergy Texas customers in the county experienced rolling outages until the transmission system could be repaired. Caplan said he could not project how long repairs might take in Ike’s wake.

“We’re going to be very clear about what people can expect,” he said, noting that during Hurricane Rita Entergy Texas issued repair commitments it could not meet due to the “instability” of its transmission grid.

“People were very upset and disappointed,” Caplan said. “I know other utilities have projected a return to service. We’re not making that kind of projection.”

Entergy Texas spent $350 million to repair its transmission system after Rita. Although in better shape to contend with potential hurricane conditions, Caplan stressed the one caveat is tornadic winds that are frequently spawned by hurricanes like Ike.

“Tornadic winds can rip through a major transmission line and cause a great deal of damage,” he said.

Even with Ike’s arrival hours away, Entergy Texas repair crews began making their way into Conroe Friday, company spokeswoman Renee Powers said.

Entergy Texas will mobilize some 8,000 workers throughout its 26-county service area, she said. Locating lodging for that many repair crews and other support staff is a logistical challenge, Powers said.